The week: August 23-29

Smoke-free stadium has some fans hot

The decision to eliminate the designated smoking areas at Qualcomm Stadium has left some Chargers fans angry about the change, it was reported last week. Season-ticket holder Pat Guzik was even angrier that no one had formally notified the tens of thousands of spectators who will fill the stadium on game days. Tailgaters can still smoke in the parking lot, but Guzik said she wouldn't have spent $4,000 to renew her four season tickets if she had known that she would be unable to smoke during halftime.

Qualcomm Stadium manager Mike McSweeney said conversations about a ban came up during the offseason and that a decision to do away with the designated areas was made jointly by stadium management, the Mayor's Office, the San Diego Police Department and the team.

McSweeney said it was the team's preference that the venue be made smoke-free.

Navy policy a broadside to substance abusers

The Navy is amping up its crackdown on substance-abusing sailors, it was reported Wednesday. Its new policy increases by half the percentage of Navy personnel who must be randomly drug-tested each month and requires every sailor to be screened within 72 hours of reporting to a new command. Service members who test positive are automatically discharged.

Under the stricter rules, a second DUI offense will trigger expulsion from the Navy. Previously, the offender's commanding officer had final discretion.

The Navy's goal is to reduce substance abuse by at least 25 percent in a few years, said Bill Flannery, director of the Navy Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention program.

Bowling center rolling into Viejas outlet mall

Bowling is making a comeback in East County.

Construction workers are converting five vacant storefronts at the Viejas Indian tribe's outlet mall into a 12-lane bowling center and bar designed to attract people who want to do more than shop or gamble, it was reported Thursday.

The effort is part of a strategy to move the shopping center toward what's called a “lifestyle” center as retailing swoons from a recession that has seen sales fall steeply and national brands in bankruptcy.

Water use in county takes double-digit drop

Water consumption in San Diego County took a dive in June and July, according to statistics compiled by the San Diego County Water Authority.

Consumption dropped by 21 percent in June and 16 percent in July compared with the same months last year.

Bob Yamada, water resources manager for the county Water Authority, said the reduction is amazing. “There are several factors that are contributing to that. The economy is clearly a contributing factor, and of course, the implementation of water usage restrictions.”

The county Water Authority has mandated an 8 percent cut on water it supplies to member agencies. Of the 24 water agencies in the region, 20 recorded savings of 10 percent or more in the past four months, compared with the same time period in 2008.

La Jolla scientists show Garbage Patch samples

La Jolla researchers Thursday showed samples of what they found floating about 1,000 miles off San Diego's coast in a Texas-size vortex of plastic trash called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Scientists from UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography used nets to collect debris for a study to highlight how the trash is damaging an ecosystem that few people ever see and few marine biologists have assessed. The refuse — discarded carelessly on land and at sea — eventually converges in an area known as the North Pacific Gyre, where trade winds can trap it for years.

Scripps and the nonprofit venture Project Kaisei in San Francisco each sent a ship on a 20-day voyage to the site.

The scientists will spend at least six months analyzing their samples to understand the density of debris, the types of plastic found and the potential ecological fallout for bacteria, plankton, fish and birds.